You can update your home's curb appeal with hardscaping, pavingstones and wallstones by Cambridge with Armortec. Consider adding a pavingstone walkway and driveway to your home. Pavingstones will increase the value of your home, and are beautiful and maintenance-free. Please go to our website and visit the magnificent photos in our electronic brochure and our gallery. By linking to Cambridge’s Designscape Visualizer you can upload your photograph and preview what your re-designed home will look like using Cambridge Pavingstones and Wallstones. Visit our website at www.cambridgepavers.com.

An outdoor room is like any other room. First decide what you want to use it for. For example, my back yard has a couple of rooms. The "dining room" is a table and 4 chairs under an inexpensive ($150) 12 ' X 12' Home Depot gazebo . The gazebo gives a pleasant feeling of enclosure and privacy when we sit at the table, and it also keeps the table clean and dry. We have a big hydrangea shrub right at the edge of this area to mark its edge. It's pleasant to sit so close to something blooming. The "living room" is 2 comfortable chairs and a love seat around a coffee table. We entertain there and pull the dining room chairs over if there are more than 4 of us. We also sit there to read in the evening. There's a smallish tree right beside it so it's pleasantly shady. The "kitchen" is the grill and a small table to set things on, and is closest to the kitchen door. Once you have decided how you want to use the space, you'll need to decide whether you want a new "floor". We have a low L-shaped deck that has the three rooms. Or you may decide on a concrete or slab patio for all or part of it. Farther from the house is some grass, and then more big shrubs (evergreen and blooming - little maintenance). And a little raspberry patch because it's fun to eat them right from the bush. The landscaping really comes last, once you have decided on the functions of the area. Don't start planting without a room plan. You may want, for example, to put one of your rooms right against the fence or wall, and if you've already planted shrubs or made beds then they will be in the way. You want to plant trees and larger shrubs so they are useful as the walls and roof of your rooms. Be sure to check the mature size of your plantings (it's on the tags) so you don't end up with branches hanging over your roof or over your neighbor's property. Don't make the mistake of putting in so many beds or plantings that you don't have time to sit and enjoy. A few low-maintenance shrubs that are planted close to where you sit are just as enjoyable as big swaths of flower beds that need weeding, annual bedding plants and maintenance (unless gardening is a hobby that you enjoy spending time at.) Enjoy your new home!

I would clean up first. Especially the stuff growing in the paving. Then get gardening with pot plants and start experimenting with different plants and the positions. See what you like and if you can keep it alive! Our house has the sun setting over the back fence and we've done a few inexpensive things to reduce that issue (most expensive were outdoor blinds around the verandah) but for most of the year we just don't want to be out there. It is hard work to keep the plants going in summer, there is a lot of sand due to the difficulty in keeping lawn alive and it is just bloody hot. So, that's why I'm saying clean up, start gardening small and see how you go before committing to structures that might not address the real issues you have with the yard. Just my 2 cents! :)

I am not sure you need to add a deck or raised paving, when there is a usable surface there already. You will have gained a closer connection to the living area, but you will be more exposed, both to neighbours and to the wind, for a significant cost. Raising the fence may break height restrictions, as mentioned, and will also really box you in visually, especially with overhead louvres. Those may feel too low over a raised area if at eave height, and if higher could look awkward against the house. The fence already shades the area alongside it, so I wouldn't extend any further shading right out to the fenceline. I would consider a shade sail before louvres, both for cost and for a lighter, less boxed in appearance. Is there access to bring in a large tree? A good sized deciduous tree positioned near the fence at the edge of the lawn may be a good way to get some attractive summer shade, autumn colour, added privacy and may be cheaper than a set of movable louvres! Below the new doors from the living area, create wide steps These could wrap around to meet the existing steps. Wide steps can become a casual seating area as well as create a connection to the existing paving, and they are less of a barrier visually than a small set of steps. They could incorporate a planter, which will help to soften an otherwise quite hard outdoor space. This would also allow the lawn to remain connected with the paved area, making it feel larger.